Written by Alan Dean Foster, this is the novelization of the movie produced by Walt Disney pictures once upon a time (1979). A research vessel searching the galaxy for intelligent life stumbles across something even stranger--the long-lost spaceship Cygnus, an earlier exploration ship thought to have been lost twenty years ago with all hands on board. Initially dormant, Cygnus wakes up to welcome the crew of the Palomino. Then things get strange as the Palomino crew explore the Cygnus and begin to unravel the mysteries hidden by its enigmatic commander, the megalomaniacal Dr. Hans Reinhardt.

Like a lot of novelizations, this story expands on a fair amount of lore and backstory, providing additional context for events within the movie. For instance, the psychic link between Dr. Kate McCrae and the robot V.I.N.CENT. is explained as a cybernetic implant in Dr. McCrae's brain that gives her a direct link to the robot. It's still a rare and unusual ability, though, as most implants tend to fail. We also see a more "scientific" explanation for what Dr. Reinhardt is attempting to do with the advanced gravitic technology he's discovered/invented. The ending of the book is considerably different than the ending in the movie, which ends on a very dark note indeed.

Unlike the previous Zelazny book I read--Jack of Shadows--this one has a far lighter, fluffier tone. Fred Cassidy is a perpetual college student who lives quite comfortably on a stipend from his uncle under the stipulation that the money will only continue to flow so long as Fred never graduates college. He's been a student for thirteen years and enjoys his life, although his advisors keep trying to graduate him. Then he's caught up in a farcical quest by aliens, Men in Black, and other factions who believe Fred possesses the mysterious "starstone," a token of galactic importance that was given to Earth to symbolize Earth's eventual acceptance into a galactic federation.

Definitely ends on a much happier note than Jack of Shadows, with a fair amount of tongue-in-cheek humor from our narrator, Fred. All he wants is his life back, but events keep conspiring against him.

Lincoln Child is one half of the duo who writes the Agent Pendergast series, along with Douglas Preston. But he also has several stand-alone novels written solo, though I'm pretty sure they take place within the same universe as the Pendergast novels.

Former Navy medical doctor Peter Crane is summoned to an oil rig in the North Atlantic. The rig has been transformed into a scientific deep-sea research facility and the inhabitants are starting to exhibit bizarre behavior and maladies that don't fit any known pattern of epidemiology. Deep, deep beneath the platform is a facility where the real work is conducted--drilling even deeper into the Earth's crust, where it's reported "Atlantis" has finally been found. The truth is far, far stranger and deadlier, of course. Are aliens involved? Maybe...

In some ways, this has a lot of the same plot points as Child's Deep Storm above, even though it takes place 500 years in the future. Humanity has spread to the stars, with incredibly advanced technology, but we are still limited to slower-than-light travel. This makes for a slightly disconnected story as events take place years or even decades apart due to the fact that it takes A LONG TIME to get from point A to point B in space. An ancient civilization went extinct over 900,000 years ago and archaeologist Dan Sylveste will stop at nothing to understand why it was wiped out just as it was on the cusp of achieving spaceflight. He hooks up with a renegade crew of "Ultras" (humans who crew the "lighthugger" ships that travel at 99% the speed of light), who all have their own agenda about Dan's fate. One person was hired specifically to kill him. Others want him to use his link to his dead father to revive their almost-dead Captain. I thought it was hilarious that the captain is named "Brannigan," like the captain from Futurama, but other than the name, there's no resemblance.

This story provides an interesting explanation for the Fermi Paradox, which asks a fundamental question: If it's plausible for the galaxy to be teeming with intelligent alien life, where is it?

Well, I finally read The Wind in the Willows. For the most part it's enjoyable. Grahame has a real gift for writing excellent lyrical prose. However, his world-building needs a bit of work. Although the main characters are all relatively small animals--a Mole, a Water Rat, a Toad, and a Badger--they interact with the "human" world as equals. So I'm not sure how the scale works here. At one point, Toad rubs his hand through his hair, which I found odd, since I don't ever think of toads having hair (or paws). So it's best to simply enjoy the story for what it is and try not to analyze the world-building too much. They also eat rabbit and bacon. Where do they get it? Do they find it problematic to eat other intelligent animals? (They have encounters with talking rabbits at least once.)

I needed some lighter fare after reading Revelation Space, so I turned to If at Faust You Don't Succeed by Roger Zelazny and Robert Sheckley. Like their previous story, Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming, thi is a farcical tale, this time about our good buddy Dr. Johann Faust. The powers of Light and Darkness are once again involved in a contest for the Millennium prize. Mephistopheles sets out to corrupt Dr. Faust, but unfortunately makes a pact with the thug Mack the Club, who just happened to be robbing Faust's home while Faust was knocked unconscious in an alleyway. Old Meph' didn't bother to check credentials. Dr. Faust finds out about the bargain Mack makes with Meph and decides that HE should have been the one to make the bargain. Now Faust is chasing Mack and Meph all over creation to set things "right." It's just a fun romp through the cosmos. Not meant to be taken seriously at all.